


Soul Survivors

by alexcat



Category: Babylon 5 & Related Fandoms, Crusade
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Love Story, cure for the plague
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:07:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25897927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Sarah thinks she has a cure for the Drahk plague and she wants to test it on Robert Black's people. Dureena sees it as a way to save her own species as well. Love is the last thing she expects, though.
Relationships: Robert Black/Dureena Nafeel
Collections: Babylon 5 Love Month, Of Elves and Men





	Soul Survivors

**Author's Note:**

> This is another older story from my website. I loved the Crusade Episode about Robert Black and loved that he and Dureena seemed to like one another.

“Are you sure, Sarah?” Matthew Gideon’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard Sarah Chambers say to him.

“Well, I’m as sure as I can be, until we run some tests. We need someone who can be our guinea pigs.”

“But how? How does it work?”

“Well, the Drakh plague is a nanovirus. A nanovirus is a tiny little computer, more or less, just waiting for instructions. If this virus gets no instructions, it has a built-in program that allows it to adapt to whatever species it is introduced into, sort of an all-purpose nanovisus. Galen, Max, Stephen Franklin, and myself have designed an implant that overrides the programming and shuts the virus down. Once shut down, the body should expel it completely.”

“What about reinfection?”

“Well, we think we’ve come up with a solution for that, too. Galen and Max designed a broad band computer signal that shuts the virus down anywhere that it exists within the range of that signal.” 

“So what’s stopping you from using it on Earth?”

“We need a smaller test group. We’ve tested on out lab samples and on some samples back on Earth, but Dr. Franklin and I agree that we need to test it elsewhere first.”

“Perhaps the colony of Zanderi and Black’s people on Theta 49?”

Sarah smiled. “I was hoping you’d suggest them. Besides, Dureena’s people have less time that humans, so we NEED to help them first when we find the cure.”

“I’ll contact Black. He may be able to talk to the colonists too.”

*

Soon, the news was all over the ship. Sarah was expecting a visit from a certain crewmember, and she wasn’t disappointed to find that crew member in her quarters that evening, waiting for her. 

“Is it true?” asked Dureena Nafeel. 

“Yes, we think it will work.”

“So what now? A rush to save Earth?”

“Well, Dureena, if it works, of course we rush to save Earth, but we don’t know yet if it works or not. We need a smaller test group. Matthew and I are thinking of asking Robert Black’s small group on Theta 49.”

“What about my people? Are they to be left to die?”

“No. Actually, one reason I wanted to test it on Theta 49 is that your people have less time than humans. They need a cure, if we’ve found one. Do you think they’d allow us to implant small devices in them?”

“That I don’t know.”

Sarah got one of the tiny implants and held it in the palm of her hand. It was no bigger than a green pea. Dureena was amazed that what could save her people from extinction was that small. She hoped with all her heart that her people would let Sarah and her team implant them. 

*

“Yes, Captain Gideon. We would love a chance to be cured. We have made this planet our home, but not all of us love it here. Some would like to take their chances again among the stars.” Robert Black could feel his heart pounding at the news Matthew Gideon was giving him over a secure line. It had been over a year since they were infected when they made a run from Earth and were deliberately infected by EF in an effort to rid themselves of embarrassing evidence of past research projects. Black wanted a better life for his people, and finally, Gideon could be offering just that to them. Gideon had already given them their lives once, when he ‘officially’ blew up a shuttle with them all on board.  
Black rushed out to tell his group. Tim was glad, but always suspicious. Many of the others were skeptical, but many felt that they had little to lose. They had a meeting and agreed to allow themselves to be guinea pigs for Sarah Chambers. Now they had to convince the Zanderi to do the same. 

* 

Black met with Merina, the tribal elder. Merina was a reasonable woman, and Black hoped she would somehow convince her group to allow the humans to administer the cure to them. He would hate to have the death of the rest of the Zanderi on his conscience. He also just didn’t want anyone to die needlessly. Black might have been made into a gung-ho soldier and a manmade killing machine, but he was first and foremost a human being, with compassion for others. No amount of training and no number of implants could change that. He smiled a bitter smile. That was the part EarthForce never understood. He would never allow his humanity to be stripped away. He’d have died first. 

“Black, you’re telling me that the humans who were here before with our sister have a cure? They’re willing to cure us? Why?”

Black smiled. “Not all humans are selfish, honored Merina. You know that Matthew Gideon fixed things so your home and ours would be safe from others. They didn’t just act to protect themselves. Dr. Chambers is dedicated to healing. You met her. You can judge her for yourself.”

“I will take it before my people. I know that for you to be cured and still live here, we must be also. I will do my best. We make good neighbors, Robert Black. I would like to have your people stay here. This world is big enough to be homeworld to both of our peoples.”

Black bowed and left her. He hoped she was convincing. The Zanderi were a suspicious people, and many did not like the humans who shared Theta 49 with them. Black made his way back to his home base. He went to his small quarters and lay down. Some days, he was just so weary. He felt responsible for his people. They looked to him for leadership, and he tried to do his best for them. Some days, he missed Emma so much that it was a physical pain. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to a God he wasn’t even sure he believed in, asking that they be saved and with them, the Zanderi. 

*

Sarah Chambers was so nervous that she could hardly stop her hands from shaking. She was implanting the tiny device in Merina’s neck. She had done Black’s group. After the implants they had, these tiny devices were nothing. But the Zanderi were a different story. They believed in a different type of medicine. It was highly unusual that they allowed her to even come among them again. Sarah expected that Robert Black was responsible.

The device went in with only a small incision. It took only minutes and was painless. Merina got up from the table and went among her people, showing them the tiny scar and encouraging them with quiet words. Soon, all the Zanderi had the implants, down to the smallest baby. Matthew and his team were setting the satellite and making it operational. It would only take a day or so until all traces of the plague were gone.

Dureena stood against the doorway of the hospital. They had used one of the huts that Black and his people had set up. Her people would live on. She wanted a chance to be a Zanderi again, and she knew that her only chance was to stay here on Theta 49. She greeted Merina again with a smile. It felt so strange to look into a face like her own. She looked around. There were Zanderi of all ages and both sexes. According to Sarah, there were about 500 of them. It was a start.

“Madam Elder, may I ask you something?”

“Of course, Dureena.” The older woman smiled at the formal young woman standing in front of her. 

“May I join with your colony? There are no others of us, and I would live among my own people.”

“Yes, Dureena, we would be glad to count you among us. But what of your travels?”

“I have traveled enough. It is time to join my own people now that I have found them.”

*

So, with the cure found and seeming to hold, Dureena moved down to the planet. Her viral shield wore off, and she didn’t contract the virus. Subsequent testing on the humans and on the Zanderi yielded the same results. The Drakh plague was finally defeated. The Exclaibur left orbit and headed out toward Mars, then hopefully to Earth.  
It was a strange life for the little wanderer. She had had no home since her parents sold her into slavery when she was young. Well, no home except the Excalibur. She missed the humans, especially Gideon and Galen. She had loved both in her own way. She found herself hanging around with Black’s human group more and more. The group was small, but it too was growing as two of the women were expecting babies in the near future. Some of them decided they wanted off Theta 49, but they had to wait until Gideon and Black could figure out how to smuggle them out. She expected Gideon had enough shady connections that he could find a way to give them new identities.

Merina had helped the humans who wanted to stay learn to grow some of their own food. The humans were excellent hunters with their enhancements, so they helped the Zanderi with their meat supply. Black found himself hunting and spending time with Dureena. 

*

Dureena knew that it was the time of year for young Zanderi to choose mates. She had traveled to several of the small villages in the area. There were lots of young men in each village. None of them appealed to her. They all were so much like her with their cat’s eyes and their dark good looks, but she her mind kept wandering to Robert Black. 

She had admired Black since she met him when she had come to this planet months ago. He had been the leader of an elite fighting group that had been used for cybernetic experimentation on Earth, then abandoned and hunted. These things, however, had not made him a bitter, mean man. The former soldier still had a caring heart. He still cared more about his people’s welfare than about revenge. Robert was a huge man, not handsome by human or Zanderi standards but still appealing in his kindness and his gentleness. Dureena felt herself wondering how it feel to be kissed by him, instead of the steady parade of young Zanderi men who hoped to gain her favor. 

*

Black was having much the same thoughts. He thought Dureena was beautiful with her golden eyes. The tight leather clothing that all the Zanderi favored made him dream of her at night. He knew he had no chance to win her now that she was among so many of her own people. The young men he saw escorting her here and there were far handsomer that he was. They could offer her children. He was just a Gropo and knew very little about genetics, but he was pretty sure that his race and hers could not reproduce. She deserved a family and a husband from among her own tribe.

He still stayed among her people a great deal. Merina liked him and felt he had much he could teach the Zanderi, and that her people could help the humans with survival on this alien world. She never blamed Black for the plague. It was not her way.

When the day finally came for some of Black’s people to leave the planet, several Zanderi were among their number. Some of the young wanted to know what was beyond their small world. 

*

Merina watched as Robert and Dureena sat and talked about the hunt they went on yesterday. She saw their excitement and animation as they talked. She smiled to herself, wondering when they would realize that they loved one another. 

*

Dureena was so frustrated. She wanted to fit in with her people, but she didn’t always do so. She found that she was somewhat of a curiosity among them. All the young men wanted to make her a notch on their belts, though. The young women were distant and hesitant to befriend her. Only the tribal elders were close to her. She told them things of far off lands and stars. She told them of her adventures before and during her time with the Excalibur. Robert was usually close by on these occasions. 

Black meant more to her each and every day. Even though she had never found a human’s scent to be terribly attractive, she liked Black’s scent. He smelled of leather and that special scent that was all his own. She remembered thinking once how much more handsome Matthew Gideon was than Black, but now she really wondered why she had thought such a thing. She found herself touching his hand now and again. The feel of his warm skin gave her a thrill that was almost embarrassing. 

She knew that she and Robert had planned a long hunting trip that would require several nights away from the villages. She was wondering if perhaps this wasn’t a mistake. While she knew she wanted to have sex with him, she didn’t want a mere physical attraction to ruin a good friendship. It had been her experience that good friends were much, much rarer than lovers. 

*

Robert was again thinking like thoughts. He wanted her so badly, yet he was afraid he’d lose her if they became intimate. He decided to do nothing and see how the hunting trip went. He knew he could live with her as just a friend, even though he wanted much more. He’d not wanted anyone since Emma had died. He never even thought he’d feel this way again. 

*

Dureena and Robert had packed and were ready to go. They had their weapons ready and their gear in backpacks. Each carried food, water and a small bedroll. Black carried more ammo and extra weapons, and Dureena carried first aid supplies. They set out for the mountains early in the morning and reached them by nightfall. It had been a long, long day, and they had food bars before turning in for the night. It was cold in the mountains, colder than they had planned for. They both lay in their bedrolls shivering.

“Robert, if we combined our blankets, we’d be a lot warmer.” She told herself this was only for warmth. 

“Yes, I agree.” He told himself the same thing. 

So they combined. 

*

Dureena awakened early in the morning on her side with Robert behind her. He had his arm around her, and she was snuggled back against him. She knew he was awake from the way his breathing had changed in the last minute or so.

“Good morning, Black.”

He tightened his arm around her and pulled her very close for just a second before releasing her, almost as if he thought better of it. 

“Hello, Dureena. Did you sleep well?” 

She sat up and stretched. She felt Black’s eyes on her and smiled to herself as she arched her back a little more, giving him a great view of her full breasts in profile. She almost wished she were naked when she did it. When he had pulled her tight against him, she’d felt him hard against her backside. She knew he had at least an interest in her, even if it were maybe only a sexual one.

The two of them hunted all day. They didn’t manage to kill any large game, but did get few small rabbit-like creatures for their own dinner. Dureena enjoyed showing Robert her skills in living in a wilderness environment and was surprised to find him at least as skilled as she was. 

They talked over dinner a bit more about his life and about hers. She knew little first-hand about the Earth-Minbari war, but had learned much in her association with John Sheridan and Matthew Gideon. Black had been at the Battle of the Line, the pivotal last battle of the war. It was a day that humanity had decided there was more honor in fighting a losing battle than in surrendering to a merciless enemy. It was the day the Minbari had stopped fighting, and the world changed forever. Black had been a Medal of Honor winner. He and his brothers and sisters in arms had volunteered for the new Bioweapons Division of EF after the war.

“We volunteered. We actually thought that EF would take care of us. Why shouldn’t they, after all we’d done for them?” Black’s face showed his horror at what at been done to them. He went on. “The implants were bad… I remember telling you about those before.”

Dureena shivered as she thought of the things that he had endured. 

“Worse than that was the abandonment. They decided we weren’t terribly trainable so they dumped us. Not before they attempted a few last experiments. It was one those that took Emma from me.” Black looked out at nothing, his mind in the past, on memories that were too painful to be shared yet.

Dureena felt a tear slide down her face. 

“Then the final insult: to poison us after we had finally left them for good. To infect us and send Gideon to do their dirty work. I thank God that Gideon wasn’t so easy to convince that we were bad.”

“Matthew never takes anything at face value. It saved us all more than once.” 

*

Black was loyal to his people and would lay his life down for them. Dureena found much to admire in this. Gideon had seemed much the same way to her. Matthew had stood up for her several times, the first being the day the mission had started. He had insisted that she be on his team. He had given her a home, the first real home she had since she had been sold into slavery by her own family, and especially since the Drakh had wiped out her planet. She had made a hard choice to come live here among her people, leaving Gideon and her shipmates. They had been a home and family to her.

Sitting by the fire in the darkness, talking to Robert Black, made her feel as if she might have actually made a right choice. 

“Days like today make me feel like this was the right thing for me to do. I miss Gideon and the rest of the crew… well, maybe not Max, but I feel at home here with you.” 

“I’m not going anywhere, Dureena. I like this planet, and I like your people. Despite the things that have happened, your people have been kind to me. My group is growing past the need for me to take care of them. While they’re here, I’ll do what I can for them, but those that choose to leave will be fine too. I trust Gideon when he says he can help them. I’ve moved enough though. This planet is my home now.”

*

They talked late into the night, long after the fire died down and the chill of late night made them shiver. Again, they snuggled together for warmth. Dureena slept safe and secure in the strong arms of her friend.

When Dureena awoke, Robert was gone. She followed his trail to the river. He stood waist deep in the water with his back to her. Looking at his massive shoulders and back made her blush. Black was huge man, easily 6’ 4” and weighing as much as a small horse! There wasn’t an ounce of fat on his muscular frame. Dureena watched silently as he dove underneath the blue water and rose up with it glistening off his tanned skin, his hair plastered to his head and a smile on his face as he caught sight of the tiny Zanderi woman who watched him.

“Join me?” Black asked. Dureena glanced at the small mound of clothing long enough to determine that he was naked under the water. Dureena was always very cautious with men. Her experiences had not been pleasant for the most part, and she usually steered clear of any situation that might end with intimate relations with anyone. She was surprised that she wanted to be naked with Robert Black, and even more surprised that she wanted much more than just a swim. 

The small thief began to unlace her vest. She dropped it to the ground. Neither of them spoke as she began to remove her boots. Black watched as she slid her pants off. Naked as the day she was born, Dureena stepped gingerly into the river, expecting it to be cold but surprised by its warmth. As soon as she was in deep enough to swim, she plunged under the water. The Zanderi swam out to where Black still stood motionless, waiting for her. She stood up and looked up at him. The former soldier reached down and lifted the naked woman against his body and looked down into her eyes. He kissed her, laughing when her slippery wet body began to slide out of his arms and into the river. Dureena grinned and swam away from him. He gave chase. She led him to the water’s edge. She stood and looked back as Robert stood in the shallow water. The rest of his body was as magnificent as what she had seen already. His waist was narrow, his legs powerful and muscular like his shoulders, and his manhood was as impressive as the rest of him. It stood erect and ready, a reflection of Black’s arousal. She watched him as he neared her, then she took off at a dead run. Black caught her with no effort at all and lifted her into his arms again.

This time his kiss wasn’t playful. It was hungry. His tongue plunged into her mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her to his clothing, spreading it on the ground with one hand as he held her, and then lay her down. Black never stopped kissing Dureena as his hands touched her. He teased tender nipples to hardness, before his mouth finally wandered down to suckle at her. Dureena was amazed at the reverence with which he was treating her, as if she were a precious gift. His gentle tug made her moan. His tongue teased wet circles around her nipple. He smiled at the goose pimples that covered her arms. He sucked and kissed her breasts, until she was writhing in his arms. 

Black moved his kisses a bit lower, kissing her flat belly. He gasped himself when Dureena opened her legs for him as he got closer to her sweet valley. Her body was smooth and hairless. Her skin glistened with drops of water from the river and with the wetness of her own body’s readiness for him. He touched her, parting her folds with his fingers, while he kissed her tiny hard center. She cried out. The human slid a finger into her and smiled when he felt her body clamp tight on it. His penis ached to be sheathed inside her. 

Dureena decided to explore too. When Black lay down beside her with his own body in the opposite direction, she looked over and smiled at his readiness. If she moved around a little, she could taste him. The lovely Zanderi woman wiggled over and licked Black’s engorged cock, tasting the salty precum on his head. She slid her hand around him, amazed at how big around he was. For a second, she wondered if she could take him inside, if his huge cock would fit her small body. Black growled as she touched him with eager hands, stroking him up and down as her tongue slithered all over his length.

“Dureena,” he whispered, “I don’t think I can last very long if you don’t stop doing that.”

She stopped, grinning at his excitement. 

“Oh God, please do it again, please,” he implored, as she slid him back into her mouth. 

It was her turn to beg when he slid a second then third finger into her tight wetness, then pulled them almost all the way out. 

Robert moved then, stationing himself between her legs. He knew he was too big to put his weight on her, but wanted to take her this way if she would let him. Dureena was ready for him. Her heated gaze urged him on as he pressed himself against her opening. She was so wet, his head slid inside her. Robert tried to go slow, wanted to go slow, but she was so hot and so tight and it had been so long that he couldn’t go slow. He plunged into her, deep into her. She grunted, more in surprise than in pain, and said his name. Black began to move in and out of her, holding his weight on his hands on either side of her. He moved fast, his hips pistoning into her over and over again. He felt her tighten around him. It was slow at first, then all of sudden, Dureena told him in Zanderi that she loved him as pleasure made her shake and shudder around him. Black whispered the love words back to her as he filled her with his pearly hot liquid. 

Instead of collapsing on top of her, he rolled over and pulled her on top of him. He raised her chin and smiled at her, kissing her tenderly as he held her. The kiss turned passionate as they made up for lost time. 

It was good that they had brought some food with them because Dureena and Robert didn’t hunt any that day.

*

Dureena had no real idea what to do now. She knew how she felt about her gentle giant, but she wasn’t sure he felt the same way. He seemed somewhat shy and reserved, except when they were making love. Then he was pure hunger and need. No man had ever made her feel the things that Robert Black did, both in a physical and in an emotional sense. Was it wrong of her to love a human rather than one of her own people?

*

Black, again, was having much the same thoughts as Dureena was. He knew as a human, he couldn’t give her children. She deserved ALL the happiness that she could find with children and a loving man of her own species. None of this changed the fact that he already loved her with all his heart. 

*

Weeks turned to months and Dureena still spent most of her time with Black. They had explored many, many roads to pleasure, and Dureena now knew how wonderful love could be. Neither of them had ever said the words again, though. Black kept expecting her to announce that she would mate with one of the men of her own species, and she kept expecting Robert to say he was going to leave when the next ship came by their quiet little home.

One day, Robert came into the village very excited. The Excalibur was coming back to Theta 49 to check on the colonists. Sarah wanted to check the status of the anti- viral implants. He’d be glad to see Gideon and Chambers again. He knew Dureena would love seeing her dear friends. She hadn’t been feeling well lately, and he was a bit worried about her. Perhaps he could get her to talk to Sarah. 

*

Dureena threw herself into Gideon’s arms when he got off the shuttle with Sarah behind him. Gideon was surprised, but he hugged her tight and kissed her cheek. He shook Black’s hand as he set the little Zanderi on her feet again.

He and Sarah had brought some treats for the children and some supplies for everyone else. Black’s group was learning to live off the land very well, but little luxuries from home were nice…. things like shampoo, soaps, chocolate, and even a little wine from Earth. The whole colony decided to have a feast for their guests. It was seldom they had had an excuse for fun. Just trying to live took up most of their time. 

They all sat at large tables in a clearing, eating and drinking and talking when Sarah saw Dureena run from the table. She looked stricken, so Sarah followed her. She found Dureena throwing up her dinner. Sarah watched quietly, not saying anything. She walked with Dureena back to the encampment.

“You are coming with me to the shuttle right now. I want to run a test or two on you, and I won’t take no for an answer.” Sarah more or less dragged the reluctant woman to the shuttle. She had a suspicion of what was wrong with Dureena, but she wasn’t going to say anything until she knew for sure. One or two tests confirmed her suspicions. 

Dureena was pregnant!

“Dureena, I don’t want to be nosy, but do you have a lover here?” 

Dureena blushed. “Black,” was all she said.

“But-” Sarah started to protest. She knew that Black couldn’t have fathered Dureena’s child. He was human, and as far as she knew, cross species reproduction wasn’t possible without genetic adjustments. 

“Robert is the only one, Sarah. I’m in love with him. I’m just not sure he loves me.”

“You have to tell him. I need to know how you got pregnant.” Chambers trailed off. 

Dureena was angry now. She glared up at Sarah with her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think I’d remember FUCKING someone else, Sarah?”

“I’m sorry, Dureena, but it seems so impossible.”

Dureena and Sarah went back to the banquet. Only Robert noticed that Dureena didn’t eat anything else. After the banquet, he caught up with her and asked what was wrong.  
She had tears in her eyes when she turned to face him.

“Robert, I’m pregnant and I don’t know how. Sarah says we can’t mate successfully with humans, but you’re the only lover I’ve had. Oh, Robert.” She started sobbing and he pulled her into his arms. He led her to his own home at the human compound. He took her into his bedroom and lay down with her still in his arms. He dried her tears and kissed her face. 

“I love you, Dureena. Nothing else matters.” He held her till she stopped crying. It took a while for what he had said to sink in and when it did, she looked up into his eyes. She saw his love reflected there. She moved up so she could kiss him. The simple kiss changed quickly as clothing fell to the floor. 

Later, she listened to him breathing as he slept. She closed her eyes and slept too.

*

Sarah Chambers woke the lovers early the next morning.

“Rise and shine, you two.” 

She smiled at them. Dureena was rolled up in the blanket, while a completely uncovered Black lay on his back beside her. Sarah stared at the large man. She certainly could understand the physical attraction now. He was male perfection. The only things marring his appearance were the scars from his cybernetic implants. Sarah could see that he had them in both his arms and legs. She wondered at the scars down either side of his body from about 5 inches under his armpits to below his waist. She wondered if some sort of shield had been placed there. When her gaze ran back up to his face, she was startled by him gazing back at her. 

“Good morning, Dr. Chambers. Were you enjoying your view?”

Sarah felt her face burn, but saw no reason to be coy. “Well, yes, actually. You are quite… nice to look at.” Her eyes automatically went to his half erect penis. 

Black laughed so loud that Dureena woke up. 

“Dr. Chambers came by so she could ogle my assets.” He laughed as he said this. Dureena eyed Sarah suspiciously, then laughed. 

“He’s all mine, Sarah.”

“Actually, I just came to beg for a blood sample.”

*

Sarah analyzed the blood she took from Black. It was certainly not like regular human blood. The enhancements had changed it somehow. After studying both Black’s and Dureena’s blood and even talking with Dr. Franklin back on Earth about it, she finally decided that the cybernetic enhancements were the reason he was able to impregnate Dureena. She determined that Dureena would deliver in about six months. 

Dureena was thrilled! Having a child was something she had never even thought about, especially since the destruction of Zander Prime. She wasn’t sure yet how Robert felt, but she meant to find out. If he didn’t want the child, she would raise it among her people. She loved him and hoped he did want it though. She was going to talk to him.

*

He did. Robert Black was beside himself with joy. Perhaps Dureena would marry him now and they could have more babies. He had long ago given up the idea of a family. He got up to go talk to her.

*  
Robert and Dureena collided just outside his door.

“Will you marry me?” was what he said and at the same time, Dureena said, “Will you be my mate and raise our baby with me?”

They embraced as they both answered the questions, “Yes!” 

*

Matthew Gideon would never understand women. Robert Black was a nice guy, but he was surprised as hell that Dureena had chosen Black to be her mate. There were many better looking men on the Excalibur. Hell, there were many better looking men here! Why one of the most beautiful women he had even known would choose the rather homely Black was beyond him. He said as much to Sarah. She laughed so hard he thought she’d choke. He failed to see what was so funny.

He stood in as Dureena’s male relative and Sarah stood in as her sister, as Dureena and Robert Black married in the way of her people and in the way of his. He and Sarah promised to return for the birth if they possibly could. 

*

Six months later, Sarah returned to Theta 49, or Zander 2, as its inhabitants now called it. She delivered a blue-eyed son to Dureena Nafeel and Robert Black. Mother, father and son were doing well when Sarah returned to her ship and flew away.

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


End file.
